Americas

2012

New York, May 18, 2012--The veteran crime beat reporter
Marcos Ávila García was abducted Thursday afternoon in the Mexican town of Ciudad
Obregón, in northwest Sonora state, according to news reports.
Ávila reports for the local daily El
Regional de Sonora, the newspaper said.

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New York, May 16, 2012-- The Committee to Protect
Journalists condemns Tuesday's attack on Fernando Londoño, a radio talk show
host and former high-ranking government official. Londoño was injured in a bombing
in Bogotá that killed his driver and bodyguard.

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New York, May 16, 2012--The body of Honduran radio journalist
Ángel Alfredo Villatoro was found Tuesday in the capital city Tegucigalpa,
according to news
reports. Villatoro had been kidnapped
from his car early on the morning of May 9.

"We are saddened by the death of journalist Ángel Alfredo
Villatoro and send our condolences to his friends, family, and colleagues,"
said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "Honduran authorities must fully
investigate this crime and bring those responsible to justice. The deadly cycle
of violence against journalists and impunity for these crimes is endangering
freedom of expression in Honduras."

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New York, May 16, 2012--President Obama should acknowledge the role that independent news reporting plays in assessing agricultural challenges and facilitating the response to famine, the Committee to Protect Journalists stated in a letter to the White House. Ethiopia in particular downplays the extent of food crises and undermines the ability of donor nations and aid groups to help by denying journalists access to sensitive areas and censoring independent coverage.

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New York, May 10, 2012--The Committee to
Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about a recent wave of violence and intimidation
against journalists in Honduras, including the abduction of a radio journalist
and two attacks on television journalists.

The guidance is hardly clear. At a Columbia University event
last week pegged to the release of the new CPJ
Journalist Security Guide, one journalism student said he and his classmates
are getting contradictory advice. Many J-school professors, he said, have encouraged
him and others to just get up, go overseas, and try to make it as a freelancer.
But the experienced journalists speaking at the event advised caution.

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Dear Minister Kachlon: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the confiscation of equipment and archives belonging to the private Ramallah broadcaster Wattan TV more than two months ago.

New York, May 4, 2012--The bodies of two
Mexican news photographers who specialized in the crime beat were found along
with the bodies of a former photojournalist and a fourth individual in a canal in
the city of Boca del Río, in Veracruz state,
according to news reports.